Please read my training page, it will be most helpful in getting your puppy on the right tract with house training.

Always place your puppy in his "Safe Place" when you are not at home or at night while you sleep. The best "Safe Place" we know of, is a crate that is large enough to contain bedding and a small food and water dish. Your puppy can safely be left in his crate, even during the first days you have him/her, for up to three hours. As the weeks travel on, this time period can be increased up to 6 hours but, by that time, he/she will be about ready to "burst at the seams" to go potty so, be sure that is the VERY FIRST thing you do as soon as you get home. The "Potty Stop" should ALWAYS be the first thing! Generally, a puppy is not mature enough to have full control of his/her bladder and/or bowels until they reach 5-6 months of age. Whatever the size your puppy, be sure the crate is and will be large enough, for at least several months, to accommodate his standing fully erect and being able to turn around easily within the kennel. Beagle puppies/dogs as well as most any other breeds do not like to soil their area of sleeping and eating, this is why having and using a crate works so well. Being confined within it helps to teach the pup to control his/her release of urine and feces. When your puppy is loose within your home, restrict him to one room where you will keep a close eye for signs of his needing to potty. Another way to keep a close eye on him is to connect a six foot lead to his collar and attach the other end to yourself (at the waist), this way, he is never more than three feet away and you always know what he's up to. Generally, as we have mentioned before, young puppies need to potty about every 1 to 2 hours of "awake time" and always upon awaking, eating, and drinking. Many times while playing, the pup will become so involved with what is happening that he will not pay any attention to his need to potty. When this need overwhelms him, there will be very little warning for you to notice. Things you'll need to watch for may be: turning in a tight circle, seeming to be stretching out in a standing position (males), spreading the back legs apart and squatting (females), whining, or even possibly going behind something or into a corner. Any given puppy may do any or all of these signs. You'll need to be very observant to learn which signs your puppy will give. The moment you see any of these signs, you need to quickly scoop him up and while carrying him (being sure not to be squeezing his belly), keep saying something like "Go Outside Potty", This is the wording we use. Once you are outside in the area where you wish your pup to use, place him on the ground and offer the command "Go Potty", ONLY use this command at this one spot, it may be good to say it several times as you wait, but don't over use it to the point that it becomes meaningless. For training purposes, you will want to use the same potty place EVERY TIME. This is where a portable, folding fence works very well. These are steel, hinged, 24" X 24" X 8 panel fences can be placed and/or moved very easily. It is best to obtain one which has a door in it for later use. One unit, creates a small 6 square foot area which will work for a small puppy but, as the pup grows, you may want to add another set of 8 panels to form a larger area. A fence of two sets of panels is plenty for a beagle puppy, and the 36" height is fine for small beagles up to about 20 lbs, but larger beagles will need taller and probably larger pens. They're available up to 4 ft. high and you can connect as many as you wish together.. Now, a moment ago, I made a statement about being sure you purchase a fence which incorporates a gate. After your puppy has made the transition into being fully house trained, and you have used the portable fence as I mentioned above, during that training, that little fence may and probably will become a fantastic aid to YOU. How you ask? Well, being that inside that fence is the only area you puppy/dog has ever been allowed to potty, he is now in the habit of going there to do his business. Even though his play yard is fully and safely fenced, as it should be, if that little fence is located within the yard (even if you move it from time to time, but not to far from the old spot) and the door is left open, he will most likely seek it out to use as his potty area. Dogs, especially Beagles, are creatures of habit. Just think how this could save you considerable time by not having to walk all over the yard looking for the "presents" he/she left behind. The chances of this working, if you follow the procedure exactly, is about 75%, much better odds than the local Lottery! Back to the house training,once the young puppy completes his business in the little pen (with the door latched) be sure to offer sincere praise. Let him know this is a really good thing he has done and should you happen to have a small treat, (the key word is small) on your person, this would be an excellent time to offer one. After the praise and treat, allow a few minutes of playtime as a secondary reward if that's what he seems to want or whatever works for him. When you find a mistake your puppy has made in the house, that you didn't see happen, you're going to have to consider this to more of your mistake than the puppy's. Never make any kind of fuss about potty accidents you didn't observe first hand and only seconds ago. Within seconds after a puppy potties, his thoughts are on to other things and he will have no idea why you are upset. Should you become upset with him at sometime after the fact, in his mind you are just being a nasty person and if this keeps happening, he will learn not to trust you or maybe even dislike and be hostile toward you surely, this is not how you want your little one to feel! He needs to know that you are the "ALPHA" in his life but also, you are the one he can always turn to for his needs: Food, water, love, comfort, guidance and security. This is not unlike what a human child wants and needs. He IS your new child, RIGHT?

Cleaning Up The Accidents

After removing the worst of the "soil", and before using any other cleaning agent, it is strongly advised that you treat the spot deeply and thoroughly with a bacterial enzyme odor eliminating product. One of the best on the market is "Nature's Miracle", readily available in most stores. Any remaining sent will draw the dog to use the same area again, so always use the odor eliminator FIRST and be sure to use enough to saturate the area. If you use another cleaner first, the chemicals in it will generally kill the little bacteria that are supposed to destroy the odor!

Food and Parasites

Be sure to feed your puppy top quality food and that he is free of intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, coccidia and giardia. Poor quality food, that is full of fillers, like corn and such, can cause intestinal up-set leading to unstable bowels and other potty related problems. Any of the aforementioned can severely compromise your housetraining efforts. Young puppies will urinate about every hour or so which means they will also be drinking possibly more water then you may think they would be. Be sure to keep their water dish clean and filled. If you believe your puppy is urinating excessively, it may be a good idea to catch a urine sample (a very large, 1/4 cup, spoon works well), place it in a very clean, sealed container, and take it to your Vet. for analysis. The sample must be taken to the Vet. soon, while the urine is fresh (within, at most, 2 hours of collection). Urine samples that are over 2 hours old will not yield true results, but you can keep the sample in the refrigerator over night if need be, that will keep it fresh and be good for analysis the next day.

One thing that many new owners find very confusing is the fact that a puppy can "hold it" for even up to 6-8 hours during the night and many times even while your away at work (try NEVER to make your puppy wait 8 hours though. It's really hard on their bladder) but, they seem to need to potty every hour or so when your at home, awake and with him/her. The reason for this is: During the hours of sleep, nature quiets the bladder and bowels, this is done to allow for long periods of rest. It's normal for puppies to sleep 14-16 hours per day. So, the same hold true for the hours your away at work. Most of that time will be spent sleeping. Once the puppy awakes, the body will need to "catch-up" on the function of the kidneys which is the cleaning the blood, so ----- the pup will probably need to "go out" at least twice in the hour or so after this extended period of "holding it". If you have to leave your puppy to go to work, after he has been asleep for a considerable time, be sure to take him/her outside at least twice, with 15-20 min. between each time, prior to your leaving the house. Almost every puppy can be house trained if you work in the right "direction". That "direction" is not always the same for every puppy, sometimes what works for one puppy may not have any effect on another. If what your doing is minimizing the "accidents" through providing proper supervision; treating the "accident spots" properly with enzymes; letting your puppy know that you ARE VERY pleased and offering praise for a "good job done"; letting your puppy know your NOT pleased with his "accidents"; and the BIGGEST THING OF ALL ---- NEVER LOOSING YOUR TEMPER! NEVER! When you lose your temper, you lose control of the situation. When you loose control of the situation, you've lost "the game". Everything in that episode is lost! TO MUCH OF THIS AND YOU'LL NOT EVEN BE IN THE RUNNING FOR THE "PLAY-OFFS"! You must be FIRM. You must be ALPHA. YOU MUST BE IN CONTROL --- AS THE SHE WOLF!